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16 October 2012

Here is an excerpt from The Mercenary:

The leopard continued
to advance, taking his time. About an arm’s length away he stopped, sniffing
the air between them. Lying down in front of Jodie, he never broke eye contact and she was too damned afraid to. When she refused to move a muscle the
leopard slowly inched closer, keeping his pale furred form low to the ground. He
appeared to be gauging her level of fear.

His paw touched the tip
of Jodie’s shoe and she startled. The leopard shuffled backward with alarming
speed, dragging himself up into a sitting position. Barely daring to breathe,
she squeezed her eyes shut and counted to ten under her breath. It’s going to be okay. I’ve just been
working too hard, my brain has gone a little crazy, and none of this is real.

Jodie opened her eyes
and stared directly into the gaze of the leopard. The majestic animal sat very
calmly at a respectable distance. It watched her with intelligence, never
missing a single tiny movement. It’s
waiting for something, she thought. Jodie felt drawn to the animal, and she
couldn’t understand it. I should be
paralyzed with fear, but I want to touch him. Why on earth do I want to touch
him?